It is desirable for a household container to be able to collapse to relatively compact dimensions for storage or transport when the container is either not in use or being used to hold less than its maximum volume capacity of contents. Collapsible kitchenware and houseware containers of various types exist to accommodate these general needs. For example, one type of existing collapsible colander includes a stiff or rigid top section connected to a stiff or rigid bottom section by a foldable wall section that snap-folds between or among two or more positions, including at least a fully expanded position and a fully collapsed position, and in some instances, one or more intermediate, partially collapsed positions. However, because the material used to make the foldable wall section must be flexible enough to fold, it typically offers little or no resistance to deformation caused by lateral forces, such as an object bumping into or pressing against the side of the container, or a user attempting to grasp or lift the container by the flexible wall section, which could result in the contents being damaged, undesirably shifted, or spilled.
A need therefore exists for kitchenware and houseware containers that are collapsible and expandable; self-supporting in at least a fully collapsed and a fully expanded state, if not in one or more intermediate, partially expanded states; and resistant to structural deformation over at least a portion of a collapsible wall region.